by Kent Covington Posted 10/03/18, 11:50 am

Citizens of the European Union will not receive preferential immigration status post-Brexit, British Prime Minister Theresa May announced Tuesday. The new policy represents Britain’s biggest shift in immigration policy in a generation. Currently, all EU nationals can live and work in Britain under the bloc’s free-movement rules, but the new immigration policy gives migrants with skills needed by the nation priority over low-skilled migrants.

by Kent Covington Posted 9/27/18, 10:50 am

Lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives passed a spending bill Wednesday that would avert a government shutdown, at least until after November’s midterm elections. The appropriations bill, passed by a vote of 361-61, keeps the government operating through Dec. 7. The Senate previously passed the bill, which provides funding for the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Defense. It includes a nearly $3 billion increase in funds to fight the opioid epidemic and a $20 billion boost for the Pentagon.

by Kent Covington Posted 9/26/18, 11:21 am

A top German bishop has apologized for thousands of sexual abuse cases that took place inside the Catholic Church there. “I’m ashamed for so many looking away, not wanting to recognize what happened and not helping the victims,” Cardinal Reinhard Marx, head of the German Bishops Conference, told reporters. “That goes for me as well.” A devastating report released Tuesday concluded that clergy members abused nearly 4,000 people between 1946 and 2014. The report found that more than half of the victims were age 13 or younger and most were boys.

Kent Covington | 9/25/18, 10:39 am

Russia said it is sending advanced missile defense systems to the Syrian government, a move the United States warns would be a “major mistake.” The Russian Defense Ministry said it would deliver sophisticated S-300 air defense systems to Syria within the next two weeks. Earlier in the Syrian civil war, Russia suspended a supply of S-300s after Israel expressed concern. But Moscow will now go ahead with the shipment, saying, “The situation has changed, and it’s not our fault.” Last week, Syria accidentally shot down a Russian military plane during an Israeli airstrike.

Kent Covington | 9/20/18, 11:06 am

Hackers aligned with the Iranian government reportedly launched a major campaign of cyberattacks ahead of renewed U.S. sanctions against the country. The cybersecurity firm FireEye warned this week that a group of hackers it calls APT-33 was targeting Middle Eastern energy firms and others. FireEye said the recent attacks only involved hackers stealing information from infected computers. But cybercriminals previously used a similar type of malware to destroy thousands of terminals in Saudi Arabia.

Kent Covington | 9/19/18, 10:37 am

The U.S. Senate took another step Tuesday to avoid a government shutdown ahead of November’s midterm elections. Lawmakers passed a wide-ranging spending bill that would fund the government through Dec. 7. The bill would raise spending in some areas, and it boosts the defense budget by $20 billion and provides nearly $3 billion more to fight the nation’s opioid crisis. But notably the bill puts off a battle over a border wall until after Election Day.

Kent Covington | 9/18/18, 11:09 am

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Monday that the United States would slash the number of refugees allowed into the country next year to 30,000. Humanitarian groups protested that this year’s cap of 45,000 was already too low. The 30,000 ceiling is the maximum the country will admit during the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1. The actual number allowed could be lower.

Kent Covington | 9/18/18, 10:45 am

President Donald Trump on Monday declassified a trove of documents related to the FBI’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The documents include 21 pages of the warrant obtained to spy on former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. Trump also declassified all FBI accounts of interviews with senior Justice Department official Bruce Ohr, who was in contact with Christopher Steele, the ex-British spy Democrats hired to conduct opposition research on then-candidate Trump. That research was compiled into an anti-Trump dossier later used by the FBI.

Kent Covington | 9/18/18, 10:40 am

China said Tuesday it would increase tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. goods in retaliation after President Donald Trump announced Monday new U.S. tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports. The 10 percent duty on Chinese goods will take effect next Monday and rise to 25 percent in January. The White House said the new tariffs were further punishment for Beijing’s unfair trade practices. Analysts believe the president’s latest move could be aimed at putting more pressure on Beijing ahead of planned trade talks later this month.

Kent Covington | 9/13/18, 09:34 am

The United States is currently detaining a record number of migrant children. The New York Timesreported Wednesday that population levels at federal shelters for migrant children have spiked, increasing fivefold since last summer.

The government is now holding nearly 13,000 migrant children, up from 2,400 in May of last year, according to the Times. Most of the children crossed the border alone without their parents.